WASHINGTON APPROVAL

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 44, 21 February 1942, Page 8

WASHINGTON APPROVAL

(Rec. 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 19

The Washington correspondent of the "New York. Times" says that official circles are pleased by the reorganisation of the British Cabinet and regard the continuance of Mr. Churchill's Government as a fact of major importance which would thwart any new political move at home against Mr. Churchill.

Lord Beaverbrook's intention to come to America is regarded as an indication of Britain's very serious determination to step up the American butput of planes, tanks, etcetera.

The appointment of Mr. Attlee as Dominions Secretary is regarded by Washington officials as an important step in view of Australia's critical attitude towards London's actions in the Far East, and also in view of the new danger to India after the fall of Singapore. '

Officials anticipate that some British circles will possibly dislike Mr. Churchill's insistence on retaining the Defence Ministry, but authorities in Washington wholeheartedly approve, and point out that Mr. Roosevelt, who is the chief commander here, needs the most authoritative British counterpart, and therefore Washington would have felt the keenest disappointment if Mr. Churchill had not kept the Defence Ministry. The elevation of Sir Stafford Cripps is viewed in Washington with interest,* and is regarded as a sign of increasing Labour influence in the British Cabinet. While some official circles in Washington view the increased voice of British Labour sympathetically, others feel some unhappiness in view of the fact that Sir Stafford Cripps has publicly advocated the grant to Russia of certain zones of influence in Europe after the war.